1 small head broccoli (or half of a large one), cut into small florets

1 head baby bok choy, chopped (about 4 cups loose)

3 T soy sauce

salt and pepper to taste

steamed rice for 4, follow package directions

Start your rice, follow package directions, and do all of the prep work first. Mince the garlic and ginger, set aside in a small bowl together. Chop all of the veggies except the bok choy and layer together in a large bowl. Chop and rinse the bok choy, set aside in a colander to drain until you are ready for it.

From here this will go together very quickly, try to keep everything moving. In a large wok, cast iron is best, heat oil over medium-high flame until glistening. Add the ginger and garlic to the oil and cook for 1 minute. Add the chicken, salt and pepper to taste. Stir-fry the chicken in the hot oil until it's almost cooked through, 4-6 minutes.

Move the chicken to the sides of your pan and add the large bowl of veggies (everything except the bok choy) to the center. Stir-fry, combining the chicken with the veggies for about 4 minutes, until the veg is hot and close to crisp-tender. Add the bok choy and soy sauce to the wok. Combine with other veg/chicken and continue to stir-fry for another 2-3 minutes, until boc choy is cooked through. Pull out a piece of chicken, cut in half and check it for doneness, cook for 1-2 minutes longer if needed. Taste and add additional salt and pepper if needed.

Serve immediately over rice.

Feel free to substitute veggies or protein here. Just remember to add things to the wok based on how long they will take to cook. In the recipe above the bok choy went in last because it's cooks much faster than broccoli, asparagus, and bell pepper. Try Steak + Onions + Peppers + Mushrooms, or Shrimp + Onions + Red Bell Pepper + Pineapple. Add sliced jalapeños, dried chillies, or crushed red pepper for heat.

What the heck is this anyway?

One afternoon, while slaving away in Mel's kitchen canning tomatoes and peaches (not together, ick), I had an idea for a new way to store my recipe collection.

Now, by "my recipe collection" I don't mean recipes I have created myself. I'm just not that person. I'm talking about the stuff that's been clipped out of newspapers, passed around as email, found on other recipe sites, and the blogs of folks who are much more creative than I am in the kitchen. I collect these bits and pieces like some people collect string (or those God-awful Precious Moments figures), and the jumbo-sized 3-ring binder that I currently have is just not cutting it any more. It's full to bursting, it's a pain in the ass to search through and it's taking up way to much space in the pathetic area that I call a kitchen. So this site was born.

Now, when my sister-in-law asks me for the cheesy corn recipe that I brought to Thanksgiving, I can send her here. When my co-worker wants my chocolate chip cookie recipe, I'll email her a link instead of lugging in a 4 pound binder that's littered with crumbs and stained with butter. I am officially reclaiming a small area of kitchen storage.

The recipes listed here are either the way I make them, or contain notes on the variations that I have made (most of which are born from straight-up laziness). If I know the original source for the recipe, I've included that too.